Regionlocke
by Elodus
Summary: Kalos is hosting a new form of Nuzlocke called Regionlocke! Marcus is one amongst a hundred to be competing in it. The question is, will he come out on top? Updates are sporadic.
1. Challenge Start!

**AN: Welcome to the revamped chapter one. To all those new to this story, welcome! To everyone else, also welcome! I'll be uploading this and chapter 2 today since I managed to go back over both chapters and change some things, though not much in this chapter. This whole story is based on my experience playing my own new nuzlocke challenge. the rules will be explained in this chapter, so pay attention. Anyway, enjoy! **

* * *

Lumiose city, the center and hub point of the Kalos region. Home to the Lumiose tower and the biggest city to date. Many trainers new to the region get their Pokemon from Professor Sycamore, whose lab is conveniently located here. But today starts the day of a Challenge, being hosted by one of Kalos' most influential people. Today starts the day of a new Nuzlocke Challenge unlike anything before.

Arriving today are the last few people arriving in Lumiose City for the challenge they were invited to. Among them was a man named Marcus Nigel. In his ate twenties, he has been a trainer since the age of 15 and has appeared in 5 other leagues, winning only two out of the five. He apparently impressed someone in Kalos, having received an invitation to Kalos for a new challenge. It had a set list of rules he had to follow, but they weren't too hard to follow. All he had to do was have a full team of six Pokemon from the six different regions. It was initially difficult to find a Kalos Pokemon for his team, but he managed to locate one in time for the challenge.

Marcus looked over to the seat next to him as the plane landed. The seat was occupied by a sleeping Snubull. The man lightly poked the sleeping bulldog Pokemon. "Princess, wake up. We've landed." The sleeping Pokemon slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. Marcus picked up the Pokemon in his arms and made his way off the plane with the rest of the passengers. Once they reached outside, Marcus placed princess on the ground and both stretched from the long flight.

With the weather so hot this season, Marcus had to wear a short sleeved blue shirt with a poke ball emblem and brown khaki shorts. His medium length hair was held back by a black head band, and on his feet were a pair of slippers. His blue backpack carried a change of clothes as well as a pair of shoes should the terrain ever call for it. For now though he was more comfortable with the sandals.

Marcus dug in his pockets till he found the paper with instructions to the meeting place for the challengers. The map was easy enough to follow, and all he needed to find was someplace called the Lumiose Tower, which the map indicated was smack dab in the middle of town.

"C'mon Princess," Marcus said, gaining the attention of his Snubull. "We need to get to the center of the city for the meeting." With a nod from Princess, the two made their way from the airport and into the city. Both were speechless at the size of the city. It was beautiful, and sprawling with people and Pokemon alike. There were a few dog Pokemon he hadn't seen before with different types of hair styles. Princess was also amazed by said Pokemon, wishing she had some type of style her own.

Marcus had to get them back on track though. With Princess close behind they followed the instructions and quickly found their way to the Lumiose Tower. Marcus looked up at the sprawling tower, amazed by the size and design. It was even more impressive to him that it doubled as a gym. Upon locating the entrance he was immediately stopped by two big burly guys.

"Name," one of them asked.

"Marcus Fitch," he answered. The other guy held up a clipboard and searched the list he was holding before nodding to his partner.

"Alright, there's a nurse inside who'll register your dex and Pokemon before the meeting begins." Marcus nodded and passed the bodyguards. Marcus and Princess had to go up an elevator before meeting the nurse the guard was talking about.

"Hello there," She greeted them with a kind smile. "I assume you're here for the challenge?" Marcus nodded before withdrawing princess into her poke ball and handing it over with his other poke balls and pokedex. She turned to a device not unlike the ones from the many Pokemon Centers he's visited and placed his six poke balls in it. She then took his pokedex and placed it in the side of the machine. After a moment of clicking buttons, the machine began to scan the poke balls. It wasn't long after that when a small ding was heard. The nurse removed the pokedex and the balls from the machine, as well as a bulky bracelet from the computers side and handed all the items back to Marcus.

"What's this," Marcus asked as he picked up the bracelet. There seemed to be a screen along the surface, with six poke balls lighting up the screen.

"It's a device that updates your status while you're on your journey. It'll be explained more during the meeting." The Nurse smiled before motioning towards the bracelet. "I suggest you go ahead and put it on, since afterwards the challenge will begin immediately." Marcus nodded his head, and as he slipped it on it let out a small beep.

Marcus then clipped his poke balls to his belt and slipped his dex into his pocket and walked into the Gym arena. The inside was massive, as expected of any type of Gym. Two sides of the Gym had bleachers, though only one set was filled with people. They were most likely the other trainers here for the challenge. Marcus went to sit down at the end of the third row, next to a blonde Chinese girl sitting next to a Lopunny.

"So, how long has everyone been waiting here?" Marcus asked almost as soon as he sat down.

"Dunno, just got here myself," the Chinese girl replied. "I think they might be starting soon though. You, me, and like two others just got here, so we might be the last batch." Marcus hummed at the information. It wasn't long before a small group of people walked in, seven in all. There was a woman with a camera around her neck, a Purple haired woman with a silver cloak, a girl in roller skates, a young boy in a blue jumper suit and carrying a backpack, and two old men; one who looked like a veteran Ranger and a portly one with a full white beard and a cloak draped over his shoulders. Wait, there was one missing.

Before Marcus could think any further on that, the young boy's backpack produced a giant hand with a microphone in it. Marcus' brow rose at the ridiculousness of it. "Welcome, one and all to the Kalos League Regionlocke Challenge." At the boy's words, everyone in the bleachers sat up straighter to listen in.

"Now I know a lot of you have a lot of questions, mainly about the rules, so we'll be going over them first."

"Aren't there supposed to be eight of you guys," a random guy said from somewhere amongst the bleachers.

"Ah, yes, well Grant won't be participating in this challenge due to familial problems." There were a few murmurs amongst the trainers. "But there is no need to worry. Grant has a pupil of his filling in his position."

"So why isn't he here then," another trainer asked.

"Well it was kinda short notice, especially for the pupil, so he's setting up his Pokemon for the challengers later." There was another murmur amongst the trainers before the boy continued. "Anyway, as you all well know, you all received a letter about the first rule already: Gather one Pokemon from each region and form a full team. As you already know, this will be all you will use in the challenge. You cannot catch any other Pokemon." There were looks exchanged amongst the trainers.

"Now, onto the other rules. Rule number two: Healing is allowed, however you cannot revive Pokemon during battle. Also, you may only carry five revives at any time. No full revives are allowed. Rule three, and this is an important one: Mega evolution is allowed, however only one of your Pokemon is allowed to have a mega stone throughout the challenge."

Mega evolution was something Marcus was unfamiliar with. He had only recently heard about it, but knew next to nothing about how it worked. He'd have to talk with Professor Sycamore before he left for the first gym.

"Alright I think that's ever- WOAH!" The young boy was pushed aside by the girl in the roller blades, taking the microphone from the mechanical hand.

"Hold up, Little Einstein here forgot one other thing." There was another, more confused murmur amongst the trainers. The Gym Leader dug into her pocket and pulled out a familiar earpiece, holding it up for everyone to see. "You all also probably got a device like this with everything as well, right?" Marcus dug into his pocket to retrieve his own earpiece, figuring it had something to do with the challenge.

Roller Girl continued to talk. "This is called a Poke Translator. It's quite simple to use: just place it in your ear like so," she showed the group how to place the device in their own ears, "Then simply press this button here," she motioned toward the small button on the side of the device. "After you press it, then simply talk with your Pokemon. It should automatically translate your Pokémon's speech patterns into human speech."

Marcus was amazed by that piece of knowledge. It was amazing what humans could come up with. "It's kind of the second reason you're all here." Jumper Kid had somehow wrestled back the microphone from roller girl and was speaking again.

"The Poke Translator is still in its beta testing, so we figured we'd give you all one and get the results from you." It made sense to Marcus. Have a bunch of trainers use a device that can translate Pokemon speech pattern and give some feedback on it.

"Is the device waterproof," a trainer asked from the back row.

"Yes, we have worked in a waterproof feature to both the translator and the bracelet you are all wearing now."

"Speaking of which," it was the camera woman who spoke up next, not needing the microphone to be heard. "You're bracelets are all connected to your poke balls, as well as your progress. It indicates how many of your Pokemon are fainted and how many badges you have earned. However, should all your Pokemon faint," Camera woman pulled out one of the bracelets. However, instead of the usual six poke balls, there were to giant letters taking up the screen: DQ

"These letters will flash upon the screen," Camera woman continued. "This will mean you are disqualified from the challenge."

The old man with the white beard stepped forward. "However, those who collect all eight badges will compete in one on one battles amongst themselves. The last one standing will have a chance to compete against the Elite Four, and if possible, the Champion of Kalos herself."

"Does that mean we can challenge this gym once this meeting is over?" Most of the trainers looked ready to battle at a moment's notice.

"Unfortunately no," Jumpsuit Kid replied. "You see, we have to make it a little challenging for you guys." Most of the trainers groaned. "Which means you guys will need four badges to fight me."

"So, you're the gym leader here?" Jumpsuit Kid smiled.

"Ah yes, we kinda forgot introductions, didn't we?" The young boy cleared his throat. "My name is Clemont, and I use electric type Pokemon."

Camera Woman was next to speak up. "My name is Viola, and I use bug types at my gym."

"Name's Korrina," Roller blade Girl said next. "I use fighting types."

"Ramos," the elderly Ranger spoke up. "My gym is home to grass types."

"I am Olympia," the Purple haired woman said after Ramos. "I use psychic types."

"And last, but not least, is me." The white bearded man spoke up. "I'm Wilbur, and I use Ice types in my gym."

"Alright then," Clemont spoke up after the others introduced themselves. "I believe that is everything-,"

"What about the other gym leader?" Clemont sighed.

"I already told you, Grants pupil will be taking on the challenge. He'll be using Rock type Pokemon." It didn't seem to satisfy some of the trainers, but they decided to focus on something else instead.

"Which gym should we hit up first?" The Chinese girl beside Marcus spoke up.

"Any one will suffice, though most leave the Anistair and Snowbelle Gyms for last," Clemont replied.

"Most people start with the Santalune Gym," Viola said. "It's out of the way of some of the other gyms, so you'll have to backtrack to Lumiose to continue to the other gyms." Some of the other trainers hummed in response.

"You can also take Route 5 to the Cyllage Gym then circle around to both the Shalour Gym and Courmarine Gym," Clemont said.

"You can also reverse the route and take route 13 to Coumarine City, then go to Shalour and Cyllage Cities," Ramos replied. "You're all skilled trainers so any route you take will suffice." Most of the trainers seemed to agree with this logic.

"Alright," Clemont spoke up. "If there aren't any more questions, then we should go ahead and get this challenge started." All of the trainers agreed with his sentiment, some expressing it vocally. "Okay, as of this moment, Kalos' very first Regionlocke Challenge begins! We wish you all the best of luck!"

* * *

After the meeting with the gym leaders, Marcus made his way to the nearest Pokemon Center to look for a map of the region. He needed to get the lay of the land and figure out which Gym he should go to first. After asking the nurse for one of the more portable maps, he quickly unfurled it to reveal the whole of the Kalos region. He managed to figure out where Santalune city was, and it was out of the way. Santalune was past route four, but it didn't seem like a long trek. He'd get there in a day most likely, challenge the gym, and backtrack the next day. He'd have to do some on the road training, but it wasn't anything new to him. He'd probably end up using Fireheart and Titania due to the formers type advantage and the latter's move set.

As Marcus was leaving, he bumped into someone as he stood up. He immediately turned to apologize, when he came face to face with someone's cleavage. Looking up, Marcus saw a woman's concerned face looking down at him. She was easily taller than a lot of the people in the center, with curls of pink hair adorning her head. She also wore a pure white dress, with a star shaped hole on her stomach, revealing a quartz gem on her belly button.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that," the woman spoke up, bringing Marcus' attention back to her face. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine," Marcus replied, rubbing the back of his head. "It was kinda my fault too. Not watching where I was going." The woman gave him a smile that would light up the city if it were dark outside.

"My name is Rose," she said, holding out a hand.

"Marcus," he replied, shaking the woman's hand. It was then he noticed the bracelet on her wrist. "Are you taking the challenge?"

"The Regionlocke challenge," Rose asked, and Marcus nodded. "Yes I am. I've been thinking about going to the Santalune Gym first."

"Same here," Marcus replied. "Best to get it out of the way first, then head to the next gym." Rose nodded her head in agreement.

"Would you like to travel together?" Rose asked, a genuine smile on her face. "I'm mainly here to pick up potions and curatives. It'd be nice to travel with someone, even if for a little while."

Marcus would have agreed to it, if he didn't remember that he needed to talk with Professor Sycamore before he left.

"Sorry, but I need to visit somewhere first before I leave," he replied.

Rose looked crestfallen before perking up and nodding her head. "I understand," she replied. "I do wish you luck in the challenge. Maybe we'll meet up again in Santalune?"

"Maybe," Marcus agreed. "Anyway, I need to go. It was nice meeting you Miss Rose."

"Oh no, just Rose, please," Rose said. "And it was nice to meet you too." With a nod and a wave goodbye, Marcus headed out the door intent on making it to Sycamores lab before the days end.


	2. Meet the Team

"Oh, well this is just great." Marcus heaved out a sigh when he saw the sign hanging from the door if Sycamore's lab that read "Out till further notice."

"I wasted all that time just looking for this damned place, and no one's even here," Marcus complained.

"Why did we even need to come here to begin with," a female voice asked from behind him. Marcus looked back over his shoulder and found a Ferroseed hanging on his backpack.

"Because, Titania, I wanted to know more about this whole mega evolution thing," Marcus replied. "I've heard a few things about it, but nothing really informative."

"Well, I say there's no point in moping," Titania said. "We've got eight gyms to beat, and we're wasting time just standing here."

"Good point," Marcus replied. There was always the chance that the professor would have already returned when they got back anyway. With an annoyed sigh, Marcus ventured off to find the tunnel that would lead them to route 4. "Still though, kinda annoyed we wasted some time looking for the place."

"Well at least you'll know where it'll be when we come back," Titania said, rolling her eyes. "For now we need to focus on training and beating the first Gym Leader."

"Yeah, yeah," Marcus replied. Finding the tunnel to route 4 was easy enough at least, what with the giant sign hanging from the entrance.

Route 4 was a sight to behold. There were flowers everywhere, each a different color. From where he exited, Marcus also noted the hedge mazes lining both sides of the route. Further along the route, a wide circular area that held a giant Roselia fountain. Marcus' jaw dropped at the splendor of it all.

"This place is… beautiful," Marcus said, unable to form the words.

"Better than Castellia, that's for sure," a male voice spoke up. Marcus looked down at the Charmander that stood by his side.

"When did you break out of your poke ball, Fireheart?" Marcus was sure he had secured the damned thing better this time.

"While you were looking into the distance," the Charmander replied. "Are we gonna stay here a while? I like the air around this place."

"Definently cleaner that in Castelia," Titania spoke up.

"Well, we definently need to train before the Gym Battle." Marcus looked around at the field, noticing the trainers and wild Pokemon in the area. "That won't be too hard though." Marcus smirked before walking up to the nearest trainer.

By the time Marcus reached the fountain, his Pokemon were dead tired. The trainers he had faced were a lot tougher than they appeared. "This looks like a nice place to rest." He reached towards his belt to bring out his team. He threw one towards the fountain while the others he threw into the air.

After a few bright flashes of light, five Pokemon stood in front of him. Fireheart and Princess were stretching from all the battles they endured. Titania decided to hang from Marcus' shirt this time. The other two Pokemon, a Gible chasing a Helioptile, were playing tag.

"Well at least I have a bigger pool of water this time," a female voice pipe up from the fountain.

"You know just as well as me that I couldn't have anything bigger than a kiddie pool in my apartment Aquafina," Marcus replied, turning towards the Carvana. "Hell, you should be glad I had something that big. I could have just left you with the sink."

The piranha Pokemon rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say." She knew Marcus would never intentionally let her play in a sink. "Are we stopping for lunch? I'm hungry from boredom."

"Yeah, yeah, I managed to get you guys something other than poke blocks this time," Marcus said as he rooted around in his back pack. He managed to find what he was looking for and pulled out a small plastic box. He opened the plastic box to reveal six small puffy morsels. Each one was a different color, and each had a flavor specific to the team's tastes.

"Heads up," Marcus said over his shoulder as he threw a chocolate puff over his shoulder. Aquafina managed to catch the puff in her mouth and chomped on it happily. He handed another two to Fireheart and Princess, then called over to the other two Pokemon. "Sunshine, Drakkina, lunchtime!"

The Helioptile and Gible immediately stopped what they were doing and raced over to where Marcus was. "Alright then, one for Sunshine," Marcus said, handing one to the Helioptile. "And one for Drakkina," Marcus handed the last one to the Gible.

"Wowee, thanks Marcus," Sunshine said, happily taking a bite out of the poke puff.

"Yeah, thanks for the chow boss," Drakkina said, eating the treat in one bite. Marcus smiled as he held up the last Poke puff up for Titania to eat. The spiky Pokemon happily ate it, devouring it within a minute.

"You all did really great today," Marcus praised. "But when we get to Santalune, I'll primarily be using Fireheart and Titania in the gym battle."

"Aww," Drakkina whined. "I thought I'd get the first gym battle."

"Normally you would," Marcus tried to explain. "But this is a bug gym, and with Fireheart's type and Titania's move set, they would fare better against the Gym Leader."

"He does have a point," Princess piped up. "But I'm sure you'll get a chance at a gym battle soon enough. They are a bunch of gyms with different types, so we'll all get our chance to battle."

"Yeah no need to fret," Sunshine said, patting her friends head. "And we'll have plenty of chances to get stronger and evolve too."

"Don't you need a sunstone to evolve," Fireheart asked. Sunshine's mood immediately dropped, her head sinking down.

"Nice going heartburn," Aquafina called from the fountain. "You sure know how to make a girl feel bad about herself don't you?"

"You do realize I am the only male right," Fireheart replied. "And besides, it's true. For her to evolve, she needs a sunstone."

"Don't worry about it right now," Marcus told Sunshine, tilting her small head to look up at him. "I'm sure they sell sunstones back in Lumiose."

Sunshine perked up at the information. "Thanks Marcus, it'd mean a lot if you managed to get one for me."

"I'll see if I can," the trainer replied. "Right now, you should focus on getting stronger, instead of evolving." Sunshine nodded.

"You're right, like always Marcus."

"You should probably apologize now, heartburn," Aquafina said to Fireheart. The fire type simply turned his head and finished his poke puff. The Piranha Pokemon glared at him, but said nothing more.

"Alright everybody," Marcus said, gaining everyone's attention. "Time for us to move on. Once we get to Santalune we'll rest at the center and head straight for the Gym. Sound like a plan?" A chorus of cheers answered him, and he returned all but Fireheart and Aquafina.

"Fireheart, we need to talk," Marcus said, looking down at the fire type. "You know good and well that Sunshine is sensitive about her not being able to evolve without a stone."

"I don't see why," Fireheart replied honestly. "I mean, yea, we evolve by training, but all she needs to do is get near a sun stone and she's good to go."

"It's not that easy and you know it," Aquafina piped up angrily. "We both know there are certain moves she can learn quicker if she didn't evolve early on."

"Listen, the point is you need to stop picking on her," Marcus scolded. "She's part of the team and you need to act like it."

Fireheart raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, alright, I'll lay off." Marcus nodded his head while Aquafina smirked at him.

"Excuse me, mister." Marcus turned to see a young boy who really needed a haircut fi the afro was anything to go by.

"Can I help you," the older trainer asked him.

The young boy pointed at Aquafina before answering. "Is that your Pokemon?" Marcus looked over at the water type, confused.

"Uhm, yea she is. Why do you ask?" The boy quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a poke ball.

"I want to challenge you to a battle!" Before Marcus could say anything, the boy had already thrown the ball towards the fountain. Bright light spilled out as the Pokemon was released. Once the Pokemon formed, Marcus looked at it with utter surprise.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Aquafina muttered as she stared down the Magikarp in front of her.

"Uh, kid are you sure about this?" Marcus didn't want to feel guilty about beating a kid with a lousy Pokemon.

"Course I'm sure," the boy belted. "I got this Pokemon in a trade, and we're gonna grow stronger together."

"Considering she doesn't eat you once she evolves," Fireheart spoke up. The fire type found this entire situation amusing.

"Tell the kid it won't be my fault if this Magikarp dies," Aquafina said, continuing to stare down the much weaker water type.

"Last chance kid," Marcus insisted. "You absolutely sure about this?"

Instead of answering, the boy gave his Pokemon a command. "Splashy, use tackle!" The red fish charged, knocking head first into Aquafina.

"Why you-," Aquafina managed once she recovered from the surprise attack. "I'm gonna make you regret that!" Without waiting for a command, she surged forward. She dived underwater only to resurface behind Splashy and bite on her tail. Without letting go, Aquafina twirled the red fish three times before letting the tail go, sending the Magikarp flying.

"Splashy!" The kid ran off after his Pokemon, meanwhile Fireheart was on the floor, laughing his tail off.

"You didn't have to do that," Marcus scolded the water type. Aquafina gave a fish version of a shrug before Marcus returned her to her poke ball. He also managed to pick up Fireheart, since his laughter was preventing him from moving, and made a dash for the nearby entrance to Santalune.

* * *

"Well this sucks," Yang said as she stared at the sign, declaring the gym closed for the day. "We walk all the way here, and the freaking gym is closed."

"It's unsurprising really," the Lopunny beside her replied. "I mean, we did leave Lumiose before most of the gym leaders. Odds are the actual challenge won't start until tomorrow."

"Which means plenty of time to plan a strategy," Rose spoke up from behind them.

"Oh yeah, you have primarily grass types, right?" Yang asked.

"Mostly, but there are two who aren't," Rose replied. Yang was about to give her some advice before she noticed someone jogging towards them. A guy carrying a Charmander in his arms slowly jogged towards them before stopping a few feet before them.

"Oh, hello Marcus," Rose greeted once she recognized him. Marcus gave a small wave with his free hand.

"Hey Rose," Marcus replied.

"Oh, you're that guy I sat beside during the meeting," Yang spoke up.

"Oh yeah, I recognize you." Marcus smiled. "I don't think we introduced ourselves earlier. I'm Marcus." He stuck out a hand for a shake.

"Yang," the blonde replied, giving his hand a shake. "And this beauty is my partner for this challenge, Springs." The Loppuny beside her gave a small bow.

"Nice to meet'cha," the Charmander replied. "I'm Fireheart, the Pokemon whose gonna pummel the gym leader."

"Well, you'll have to wait till tomorrow," Rose replied. "Viola won't be here till tomorrow at the latest."

"Perfect," Marcus said solemnly, hanging his head. "Now what do we do?"

"I think I'm going to figure out some strategies," Rose replied, making Marcus look up. "I have a slight disadvantage at this gym, so I need to figure out how I'm going to win."

"Sounds like a plan," Yang said. "I think I'm going to train a while longer. I want my team to be ready tomorrow." It seemed as though both women had figured out what they were going to do next.

"I think I'll go rest at the center for a bit before looking up what kinds of Pokemon Viola has," Marcus said. The three trainers nodded to each other before turning to head their separate ways.

* * *

**AN: Short chapter is short, but it does introduce a few characters, some who sound familiar if you are at all familiar with them. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Leave a review to help me improve my story writing. It also helps to motivate me to write harder and do better.**


	3. Santalune Gym Battle

Marcus woke up with a start, muttering nothings about cannibal pizzas. A quick look around gave him an idea of where he was. A lone dresser, a window, white walls, and the bed he currently sat in; this was a room in Santalune Pokemon Center.

"Well look who final woke up." Marcus looked lazily towards the floor. Fireheart was currently sitting with his backside to the bed and digging into a bag of chips.

"Please tell me those aren't my chips," Marcus asked as he yawned.

"They are," Fireheart answered, popping a chip into his mouth. "You should also check out the time." Fireheart pointed at the alarm clock on the dresser, which read 9:03 a.m.

After the trainer noted the time, adrenaline coursed through his veins as he got out of bed and prepared to get dressed.

"Why didn't you tell me how late it was," Marcus complained as he struggled to get his pants on.

"I did try," Fireheart answered. "But you sleep like a rock. I tried everything I could short of burning the center to the ground."

"Well try harder next time I oversleep." Marcus made for the conjoining bathroom to relieve himself. "We have a gym battle in the next 25 minutes. We need to eat and go over strategy."

"And we can't do both at the same time," Fireheart asked, chewing on another chip.

"Well we could," Marcus replied poking his head out from the bathroom. "But once we start eating, you won't listen."

"That's not true," the fire type replied absentmindedly, sticking his snout into the bag. Marcus knew he was being ignored at this point.

"Little glutton," he muttered. Marcus didn't know what was more impressive, how much Fireheart could put away, or that he wasn't chubby in the least bit. "Kinda jealous of that. I have to keep a diet, all he has to do is eat and fight." Marcus sighed, exiting the bathroom and taking the chip bag off of Fireheart's head. "C'mon, let's go and get a decent breakfast."

"Chips are decent," Fireheart argued as Marcus picked him up.

"Not for breakfast," Marcus countered.

After eating a more nutritious meal, Marcus and Fireheart made their way to the Santalune City Gym. Just as they were arriving, Marcus noticed two people exiting the gym. "Is that… Yang and Rose?" Upon further inspection, it was in fact them walking towards him. "Morning ladies," Marcus greeted once they were within range.

"Hello, Marcus," Rose greeted.

"Sup?" Was Yang's response.

"Did you girls already face off against Violet?" Both of the women nodded their heads. "Great, just starting and I'm already behind."

"Don't worry about it too much," Yang told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "There are probably some who've already lost by now."

"That's… not that comforting," Marcus replied.

"Don't worry," Rose spoke up. "You'll do just fine. You seem like a tough trainer after all."

Marcus nodded his head. "So I guess you two are heading back towards Lumiose ASAP?"

"Yea," Yang answered. "I'm hoping to get to Camphrier town before nightfall."

"I want to check out a little more of Lumiose," Rose said. "I hear there's a store that sells evolution stones."

"Yea, I wanna check it out too," Marcus replied. "Well, in any case, good luck to both of you."

"Same here man," Yang replied.

"I hope you do wonderful," Rose answered. The trio exchanged goodbyes before Rose and Yang started for route 4. Marcus turned and started his way towards before he was stopped by Yang shouting his name. Marcus turned to face her before he entered the gym.

"By the way," She shouted from the distance, "I hope you're not camera shy." At that, Yang turned around and ran towards Route 4. Marcus raised an eyebrow, pondering for a moment what she meant. When he couldn't figure it out, he decided to step inside and see for himself.

"What… what is all this," Fireheart asked as he looked around the stage. Marcus, Fireheart, and Titania were currently standing in their trainer box, waiting for their battle to start. While they were waiting, they got a good look around the place, noticing cameras and crewman all around the field.

'So this is what Yang meant,' Marcus thought to himself. "This whole challenge is more than likely a live event," he told his Pokemon. "They broadcast it live, but at the same time record it."

"Why would they want to record us," Titania asked as she looked around.

"Probably for the championship round." Both Pokemon looked up at Marcus with confusion. "Those that make it will have to face off against each other, and will more than likely have to do so in a roster form. For that to happen, they go back and review the trainers past battles with the gym leaders to evaluate who would go against who."

"That's good for an even number of competitors," Fireheart replied. "But what if there was an odd number of trainers near the end?"

"Then they would make a unanimous decision about who would get a free ride to the final round while the rest duke it out against each other."

"Sounds unfair," Titania replied. Marcus simply shrugged. The rest of the time was spent silently waiting for the match to begin.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Viola said as she finally made her way to her trainer box. "Had some technical difficulties to help deal with, but we should be ready to begin."

"I'm ready whenever," Marcus said, with Fireheart nodding and Titania revealing her spikes.

"Alright then, let's begin!" The cameras began rolling as soon as the referee started calling out the rules.

"This is a Regionlocke gym battle Challenge! The rules are fairly simple Viola will only have the use of two Pokemon while the challenger, Marcus, may use as many Pokemon as he sees fit. Substitution is allowed for the challenger, however no restorative items may be used. Whoever has no Pokemon left will be declared the loser. Now choose your first Pokemon!"

Viola threw her first poke ball into the air. "Surskit, you're up!" A small blue Pokemon took to the stage, making it look as if it was gliding around on the floor.

"Titania, take it down," Marcus called out, making the steel type roll on the ground until she got into position.

Once the referee noted who was battling, he raised both of his flags in the air. "This match will be between Surskit and Titania. Begin!"

"Surskit, start off with a quick attack!" The water-bug type quickly dashed forwards, slamming herself into Titania, only to jump back while shrieking in pain.

"Not the smartest first move," Marcus muttered to himself. He had to wonder what was going through the Gym Leaders head to believe she could pull of a physical move against a steel type Pokemon. Especially against Titania, since she was covered in spikes if they weren't sheathed.

"Titania, counter with leech seed." Titania was quick to sheath the spike on the top of her head, launching out a few seeds towards Surskit. The seeds quickly sprouted vines and wrapped themselves around the Pokemon, immediately sucking the energy from the Pokemon.

"Oh no,' Viola cried, worrying her bottom lip. "Surskit, use bubble quickly." The water bug type was quick to reply as she shot a flurry of bubbles from her tip at Titania. The move, like last time, proved ineffective however. The Ferroseed didn't as much as flinch when the bubbles came into contact with her.

"This is almost too easy," Marcus muttered. "Titania, finish this off with rollout!" Titania swiftly leaned over on her side and began rolling towards Surskit.

"Dodge it Surskit!" The water bug Pokemon couldn't move due to the vines continuing to drain her energy and was hit dead on. She flew through the air before hitting the ground hard. After her harsh landing, she didn't budge and the referee called the match.

"Surskit can no longer battle. Viola choose your final Pokemon."

"Thanks for the effort Surskit," Viola said as she returned the Pokemon to its poke ball. She took another poke ball from her belt and threw it in the air. "Vivillion, it's all up to you now." A butterfly type Pokemon was released from the poke ball, the pattern on its wings resembling the device it was previously in.

"Titania return," Marcus called out. Titania did as she was told, sheathing her spikes before hopping into Marcus' arms. "Fireheart, you're up." The Charmander nodded his head and charged onstage.

"This round will be between Vivillion and Fireheart. Begin!"

"Fireheart, use Dragon Dance!" The small lizard did a little dance before being covered in a blue light.

"Vivillion, Infestation!" Vivillion let out a small screech before Fireheart was suddenly covered in bugs.

"Gah! What is this," Fireheart screamed as he was being bitten by the little insects.

"Infestation is a move similar to Bind," Viola spoke up. "The Pokemon it's used on gets damaged once every turn and you can't recall the Pokemon to its ball."

'Fantastic,' Marcus thought. 'No doubt the bugs also hinder Fireheart's movement.' Still, hindered or not, they needed to make a move. "Fireheart, use Ember!"

"Dodge it, Vivillion!" Fireheart began spewing small fireballs at the butterfly Pokemon, but none seemed to make contact. "Good work!"

"Crap, this isn't going to work," Marcus muttered. "Fireheart, try to get in closer." At that, Fireheart dashed forward, making a beeline for Vivillion.

"Keep it back with Gust." Vivillion started to flap her wings at a quick pace, creating a gust of wind that halted Fireheart's advance.

"Try to hold your ground, dig into the floor if you have to!" Fireheart got down on all fours, using the claws on his feet to keep from being blown away. At the same time, the bugs on the fire type's body were being blown away by the Gust attack.

By the time Viola had noticed, it was too late. "Vivillion stop using gust! You're blowing all the bugs away!" Vivillion stopped the attack, looking back at her trainer in confusion. Marcus was quick to use the distraction to his advantage though.

"Fireheart, use Dragon Rush!" the tiny lizard was suddenly covered in blue energy as he quickly zipped forward towards Vivillion. The attack hit dead on, with Vivillion hitting the ground on her back and Fireheart landing on his feet. The bug type attempted to get up, but instead fell back only to pass out.

"Vivillion can no longer battle, Fireheart is the winner. That means Marcus wins the match!" Viola returned Vivillion to her poke ball and clapped as she made her way towards Marcus.

"That was a magnificent match," The gym Leader said as she raised her camera and snapped a quick picture of Marcus and his two Pokemon.

Marcus, dazed by the surprised photoshoot, replied, "Um, thanks." There wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that Viola would have won the match, but that was beside the point. Marcus watched as the camera instantly produced a picture, which Viola handed to him along with the Insect Badge.

"This is only the start of your challenge," Viola began. "There will be trainers who will try to eliminate you out of the game, so keep on your toes." Marcus nodded his head and placed the badge onto his backpack, and placed the picture inside. "How you proceed is up to you entirely, but I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," Marcus said and exited the gym.

"So what was up with the picture," Fireheart asked once they were outside.

"Probably just something she does," Marcus replied. "She takes pictures of Pokemon for a living as well, so it wouldn't surprise me."

"I think it serves as a memento of our first gym victory," Titania spoke up. "Like she said, it'll only get harder from here on."

"No doubt," Marcus replied.

"So where are we off to now," Fireheart asked.

"We head back to Lumiose." Marcus returned Titania back to her poke ball before bringing out his map. "From there we can head to route 5. If we're lucky, we can hit up Camphrier Town before it gets dark." There was still the matter of the stone shop and seeing Professor Sycamore, but he'd take things in stride for now.

"Sounds like a plan," Fireheart said as they made their way back to route 4.

Coumarine City:

The Pokemon Center was filled with challengers, some who had recently lost to the gym Leader and others who have recently won a new gym badge. Those who had won had moved on, save a few who wanted to watch the recorded action from Santalune and Cyllage cities. The matches from the Cyllage Gym had all ended in defeat, while the three from the Santalune Gym had been victorious in their battles. One of the viewers had seen Marcus' match noticed something odd.

"See something you like," the woman beside him asked. She was dark skinned with bright yellow hair, matching yellow eyes, and a slightly less bright yellow sundress with a white belt lining the middle, and sandals. "Gotta admit though, he is quite the cutie."

"Well there is that," the man replied. He was more brown skinned, with dark hair styled into a Mohawk. He was wearing an ensemble any other punk would wear: ratty jeans and combat boots, along with a leather jacket and a dark tank top that read 'Battle or Die'. Hazel colored eyes looked back at the screen. "But I was looking more at the Pokemon he was using." He pointed at the screen towards the Charmander. "Why are all of his Pokemon unevolved?"

"A personal challenge perhaps," The woman replied. "He isn't the only one with Pokemon who've yet to evolve."

"Yea, I guess," The man replied. There was something else about the guy though. Something that resonated within him. Seeing the concentrated look on the man's face, the woman began chuckling.

"Does the famous canine Pokemon trainer, Halsarry, have a crush?" the blush that rose onto his cheeks seemed to answer the question for him, making the woman chuckle louder. "Oh this is rich!"

"Shut up, Shandra," Halsarry said. "It's nothing like that. Plus, aren't we too old to have crushes anyway?"

"Whatever you say," Shandra said, shaking her head. "So, what's next for you? I'm probably heading to Shalour City."

"I'll probably do the same," Halsarry replied.

"Oh? You mean, you don't want to stop by Lumiose real quick to see your new man crush?" Halsarry scowled at the blonde.

"Cut it out already, we ain't highschoolers anymore y'know." Halsarry crossed his arms and turned his back to Shandra. "I'm heading out now, see you in Shalour City."

"Well, with luck, you might be able to meet him on the road anyhow," Shandra said to his retreating form. Halsarry kept moving however, most likely ignoring the comment. Once he had left the center, Shandra looked back at the screen. A smirk crossed her lips as she recounted her and Marcus' last encounter. "I'm hoping to see you in the championship once again, Marcus Finch."


End file.
